stranded
by kathos
Summary: GS I thought they need a little time alone. After pwf.


Title: Stranded. 

Author: Kathos

Spoilers: Primum non nocere, Play with fire,

Rating: PG 

Disclaimer: If I owned them would I have to be writing this instead of getting them together for real.

A/N: many thanks to my amazing beta Jules, any mistakes are my fault not hers.  

"Why did I agree to do this?" Sara shouted over the noise of the helicopter. She was standing in the doorway waiting to go down a rope to a scene that was inaccessible across land. Grissom was standing next to her, smiling.

"Because you haven't got a life," he quipped instantly regretting it, "and you love your job. Not to mention you are doing me a favour." She smiled; he was trying to be nice. 

"You so owe me big Grissom." She shouted, just before she jumped out, down the line. He followed a little more tentatively. He hated this but in order for the scene to be examined they had to get down there somehow. 

By the time he got down Sara had already taken off the harness and gotten their field kits sorted out. She took the camera out of her pack and started to take the photos they needed. He took the perimeter and made his way in to the body. When he had bagged the evidence from the area he looked at the body before him. Or tried to. Sara had finished taking photos and was now standing in his way, preventing him from seeing the corpse on the ground. All she saw was the victim, he worried that sometimes she didn't even see herself.

He stepped forward, she looked at him. 'It was always like this, why did he never see the victim as a person?' she thought. He saw the confusion and anger in her eyes. Directed, once more, at him. Maybe that made it easier for her. He went to kneel beside the body.

"I sometimes wonder why anyone forms any sort of connection to other people at all, if this is what can happen. It's safer just to stay away." He said after a while, the sadness plain in his voice. It shocked her; he barely let any emotion show let alone give it a voice. 

That was changing since he had his surgery he seemed more open, more relaxed. He seemed more comfortable in his own skin. She smiled at him, pleased that the Grissom she used to know all those years ago was making an appearance. 

"It's not so bad. Not all people are like the person that did this, some are actually nice." She smiled softly; trying to reassure him it was true. He turned back to his evidence collecting off the body. They had been sent down with a body bag so that when the helicopter got back the process of getting them and it on board would go quicker. 

They looked up at the clouds which were beginning to draw in. The helicopter was just on the horizon Sara hoped it would get there before the rain started. As it neared she started to back away closer to the ridge of the outcrop they were standing on. 

"Sara what's wrong?" Grissom asked. She didn't answer; she just leapt forward and pulled him to the ground. At that moment the helicopter started to descend, 'too quickly' Grissom soon realised.

The helicopter hit the ground at the bottom of the outcrop, sending a huge ball of fire up past them. 

"Oh god." Sara whispered. Griss slowly got up to look over the edge. The helicopter was trashed; no-one would get out of it alive.

"You still got the radio?" He asked her. He walked over to her noticing that her hand was shaking as she held the radio out ton him. 

"It'll be ok you know," he said, trying to reassure her, "They know we are here, and we can radio it in. They will send another helicopter." 

"Not sure I want that," She replied, he looked at her confused, "Well if that can happen again."

"Sara, it will be fine, that was just a freak accident. We will be ok that won't happen to us." He countered trying to ease her distress. They tried to use the radio but no matter what frequency they tried there was no response.

"Well we could do another sweep of the area; pick up anything that isn't tacked down. I don't like the look of those clouds remember the shepherd's case. I hate rain. Sara you ok?" he asked, she was starting to shiver. They were soaked and even though during the day the desert was hot it could become quite cold at night.

"Yeah, just a bit cold. Never did like the desert at night. It just didn't seem right when it had been so hot to go so cold." She replied. Shifting closer to Sara, Grissom put his jacket over her shoulders. 

"Gris, your gonna freeze, put it back on." She almost shouted, "Look, it's more sensible to just huddle together ok?" He reluctantly took his coat back. He never seemed to do the right thing around her_.  _

"Yeah, ok." He slipped an arm around her waist, putting the coat around both of them. "You know this isn't as easy as I first thought. You don't happen to have a blanket hidden in your case?"

"Nope, you?" she asked, he shook his head, "If we hadn't used the body bag we could have put that around us or something."

"Well," he started. She looked mortified.

"No. Uh uh. Gris we are not." __

"Relax. I am not going to contaminate the evidence. What?" he said, confused by the look on her face_. _

"You only care about the evidence not the fact that it is gross, I can't believe that" she replied. 

"Sara, I really don't understand you sometimes," he said, adding softly, "I wish I did." 

"Yeah, well. I never understand you anymore," Her voice was bitter, she got up and started pacing. Annoyed that there was no way out of this awkward conversation.

"I'm sorry." He stated simply, she turned quickly on her heels.

"What?" She was confused, he rarely apologised. 

"I'm sorry for everything." He looked and sounded honestly remorseful, but Sara still wasn't sure.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I should just learn to keep my mouth shut." She countered, trying to end the conversation.

"No, Sara. I pushed you away. I should have told you what was going on. I, well**, **I asked you to trust me and I should have done the same for you." He argued. Sara came to sit next to him again.

"It's ok. I shouldn't have tried to push you into anything. I know you don't feel that way now. I," H e stopped her from finishing by putting his fingers over her lips.

"Shhh. I, it's just difficult for me sometimes. I find it so hard to make contact with people. But Sara, with you. I have the words but I don't always have the courage to say them." He stammered, trying to reassure her that what they had once had was not truly lost.

"You know what I don't want to talk this now. Can we just leave it? God it's cold. When are they gonna get out here?" She muttered.

"Maybe the downpour made it impossible to fly. Now it's easing off they should be able to search for us." 

They fell silent, Sara worrying that her need for him to talk about this when they got back to work would result in them never talking about it. 

"I need to talk about this," Grissom said finally, "It's not that I don't know what to do about this. It's just,"

"What, you don't want to," Sara retorted angrily. 

"Sara will you just listen," He shouted, "Sorry, look I'm just a little unsure as to how wise it would be. There are implications to your actions, you know."

"I do know that. You always talk to me like I'm a child. It's not fair. I am just as good as you are." She mumbled. __

"Well, stop acting like one Sara. It's not just how you feel, contrary to popular belief I do have feelings. Just because I don't display them like you do it doesn't mean I don't have them." He was shouting again. __

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, "no wonder you hate me" 

"Sara," He said sighing, "I don't hate you**. **I just have a hard time relating. We are going to be ok**. **Just needs some work that's all."

"'Kay, One day at a time, right?" she smiled.

"More like one night at a time." He replied. __

A noise in the distance distracted them, it was a helicopter. The search lights scanning the area. Then they heard Brass's voice over the P.A. 

"Hey, you guys ok?" He asked.

Sara smiled, they were. 


End file.
